Although the Government is not fully open on Monday one of the written questions came from Caroline Nokes who is the Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North and she asked about STEM for these people. The question is available here and the response from the Government came from Anne-Marie Trevelyan. So here is the question and response.

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with NGOs in Afghanistan on STEM teaching for girls in that country.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Girl’s education globally is a priority for the FCDO. The UK has not specifically engaged with NGOs in Afghanistan on STEM teaching for girls. Our support focuses on foundational learning, which includes numeracy, literacy and socio-emotional skills. We are working with the international community to press the Taliban to reverse their restrictive decisions on girls’ education, while we continue to support the delivery of education, including through NGOs, UN partners, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education. Our bilateral support has enabled 125,000 children, of which 83,700 are girls, to access education between September 2022 and June 2023.